Posts Filed Under wine buying

By now, you’ve heard of the Millennials. Much has been written about this next generation of wine consumers, who according to NPR average 80+ text messages a day, have more disposable income (excluding mortgages) than their parents, are just reaching the legal U.S. drinking age, and are poised to displace Baby Boomers as the next big thing in wine consumption. Hell, even I’ve written about them.

While we have heard quite a bit about Millennials’ wine drinking, we haven’t heard much about Millennials taking an active part in wine making. Nor have we heard how Millennials involved in the wine industry view the buying habits of their peers.

Until now, that is.

I recently caught up via email with certified Millennial Hailey Trefethen, daughter of John and Janet Trefethen. Yes, thatTrefethen, the “didn’t they win Best Chardonnay in the World back in the late `70s?” Trefethen. Hailey, along with brother Loren, has recently joined in the day-to-day involvement of the Trefethen wine business and while she’s not making the wine itself, she’s certainly making her presence known within the family enterprise and is a frequent traveling ambassador for her family’s brand.

As you’ll undoubtedly glean form reading the following interview, Hailey is well-spoken, passionate about the family business, and has a keen sense of where the wine industry is headed (not to mention being insightful enough to realize that her generation’s rock music isn’t as good as mine)…

Today is just a very quick blurb to let you know that I’ve been working with the folks at MyWinesDirect.com to set up discounts on their wine selections for 1WineDude readers. From now through the end of September, new MyWinesDirect.com customers can use the code winedude to save $10 on their order.

Frequent 1WineDude.com readers may have noticed a sharp-looking widget over in the sidebar titled “3 Wine Picks.” This little bugger comes courtesy of winecliQ, the brainchild of AmericanWinery.com, which I helped to test during their private beta.

winecliQ has now moved out into public beta, which means that you can jump into the winecliQ fun if you’re so inclined. The idea behind the program can be summed up (in the words of AmericanWinery.com) as “Drink Wine, Get Paid.” A summary / overview from the winecliQ website:

People who dig your style buy the wines you recommend direct from the wineries through a secure checkout.

Wineries handle shipping and customer service.

You get cash just for talking about the wines you like.

Now your wine “hobby” can pay for itself!

There are new FTC regulations that could end up throwing a wet blanket on the winecliQ party, but as far as I’m aware there’s nothing stopping you from joining and possibly profiting from it in the short term if you have a blog or website. In addition to the sidebar widget, you can also get a customized landing page for your wine picks, and an “individget” that can be used to highlight individual wine picks (if they’re available for sale on AmericanWinery.com, that is).

There’s also been a Ning.com social network set up for winecliQ users at social.winecliq.com. Can’t say I’m making a mint from this, but I do like the idea of supporting American wineries that I think are making good juice, and possibly cashing in on that… someday…

Anyway – worth checking out especially if you’re blogging about U.S. wine.

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